Jon Houseman - University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON

Professor: Jon Houseman

Department: Science

College: University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Take notes (he's an amazing lecturer), do the readings, and make definitions for the keywords each week! don't fall behind with this, they're important. Study the keywords like mad and Do. The. Crosswords. If I could put it in bold type I would. DO THE CROSSWORDS. I had him again for Animal Form and Function and it's the same thing. I love him<3

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I remember only ever getting a perfect grade on one key word question... I think him and Katie Gilmour have to be the most demanding professors you will ever have (even worse than calc profs). Unless you are a robot or lucky enough to memorize things instantly, they set you up to fail. If you didn't 'succeed' in his class, don't take it to heart.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO2121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I will

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO2135
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I was enjoying the course and doing well on the midterms and quizzes.... and then the lab exam happened :(

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

At first, Houseman is not going to be a great professor until you adjust to how he teaches. Everything you need to know he'll talk about in the lectures. However, when he tells you to review his keywords, DON'T, there's just too many. Just write super clear notes for every lecture, and use his podcasts to fill in blanks.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Do not take his class if you're looking for a good grade. His grading criteria is extremely tough, he's looking for very specific answers. To pass this class I recommend going over the keywords thoroughly a long time before the midterm/exam.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Honestly the best prof

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO113O
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

The legendary Jon Houseman was the best lecturer I've had so far! He is very knowledgeable about what he teaches.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Great lecturer but really really tough and strict when it comes to his marking schemes for midterms/exams

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO1140
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He's an amazing teacher, but the marking is really tough. Know 3 points about each keyword, they really come in handy, Go through the podcasts as a review tool, and make notes from it, final exam had 2 questions that he only talked about in the podcasts and was not in the text or on digital diversity. Go through digidiv readings, they help.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I loved Houseman. You'll hear a lot of negative things about him, but he's a real gem, especially for first years. His lectures were engaging, and he has a way of just keeping the class' attention for the whole time he has. The class was very organized, he was very clear in what was expected. It is sad to see him retire.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great prof who is really passionate about his subject. Lectures are engaging and surprisingly interesting for a first year course. Midterms and final exam are hard because you are expected to know everything that was mentioned in class, but if you study early and take advantage of the resources that he provides then you'll be fine

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Class was really interesting, and lectures were engaging. Expects you to know absolutely everything.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Such a great lecturer! Hard exams but very little homework so makes it manageable to stay caught up with readings and reviewing lecture notes. Overall, I really enjoyed Houseman.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Funny guy. Lecture material is EXTREMELY BORING. Podcasts saved my life. Study early or else you will hate yourself. Answers to questions are extremely specific, so don't try to guess.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

His website is incredible, he gives you -exactly- what you need to succeed in his class. He's not easy to talk to, at all, but his lectures are top notch. Be sure you know exactly what is going on, because if you word a definition or mechanism weird or incorrectly, it is wrong, he can be pretty specific that way.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I was in his last ever BIO1130 class, I leave this review as a relic for future uOttawa students who have dodged this bullet. He's extremely pompous. It's like he knows that the material is not hard so he fills his midterms with trick questions so that you feel like it is. He uses long words just to confuse people but they're not used correctly.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Houseman was the Prof I was warned about. Though his marking scheme is tremendously hard, I looked forward to his lectures. He is very knowledgeable in the subject, conveying the material in an effective matter. The course is very interesting, if you can take all the information in. There is a lot of work involved in studying but it is worth it

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

To pretty much summarize it, Houseman is an amazing professor, he really seems to love what he's doing and explains everything in his lectures detail by detail. BUT, his exams are the hardest things you will ever do in your entire life. You think you understand everything, and BOOM. Nope, you failed.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO1130
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I was honestly very scared coming into this class because I heard so many bad things about him, but he is such a good professor who really knows his material and is passionate about what he is teaching. May be a little arrogant and all of the information tested is based on what he says word-for-word - so read his blurbs and pay attention in class!